I have a 1969 z/28 my dad left me but I'm pretty much a backyard mechanic. So I'm having that restored professionally, but I still want someting I can do myself. What is a good year for a novice camaro project?

 

93-97 is where i would be looking

 

or 82-92 but with them, you may need find rust more than the newer cars:fact

 

what do you want to do with it? what is your budget? all camaros are projects IMHO. damn camaros. i'd say another 69! i do like being able to literally stand inside the engine bay of my 80 and work on stuff. these damned 4th gens just have too much stuff crammed into the engine bay and its way too far up under the hood. a real back killer. 3 gens a little better.

 

I'd say a third gen or an LS1 personally. LT1 cars look to god damn hard to work on and that would **** me off too much.

 

Depends on what kind of project you're trying to build. For a cruiser with attitude I'd favor the 1st gen cars. For drag racing I'd start with a LS1 car- simply because it's already pretty f-en quick and responds very well to mods (unlike 3rd gen cars). For a road course car the IROC third gens can still hand many cars their butts in the corners.

If you're just looking for something to restore and enjoy (versus modify), I'd look at some of the third gens. They're cheap, abundant, and parts don't cost a fortune yet... just don't tell anybody it's "fast".